Kenya Dig It? ~ The Roaming Gnome
Feb. 5th, 2010 04:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bloodyrosemccoyToday, I beg your indulgence. I’ve been reminiscing about Kenya recently, and feel like I want to share my trip with someone. Since I do have a bit of guilt for not really posting a lot of pictures on this here blog, you get them now, two years later!
Right now all I’ve got in any kind of arrangement is the Photobucket story I did about my roaming gnome. I make no promises, but I’m going to try to dig some other pictures off my hard drive. Meanwhile, enjoy Addy’s Adventures in Africa.
Welcome to Mombasa! Mini Addy accidentally came with me and had a few adventures of her own. Here to get you started was a place in the neighborhood Addy and I stayed in: Fort Jesus. It was built by the Portuguese in the 16th Century and then got won and lost by a whole mess of people fighting for control of the prosperous port.
After the first day, Addy chills with her pal Snorlax and updates our travel log before letting down the mosquito net. When you're four inches tall, mosquitos are not to be messed with.
Addy was fascinated by the Hindu altar at the restaurant we had dinner at, but she rather wanted more than just vegetarian food. At least dinner came with a show—the world’s most entertaining lecture by the restaurant’s proprietor, which we later titled “Vegetables Are Good For You And Ganesh Invented The Internet.”
After the first week, our next stop was Kaloleni, a village a little inland with a spectacular view. It’s surrounded by shamba, or field, where nazi (actually pronounced NA-zee, which doesn’t break Godwin’s law)—coconuts—grow. The locals like to ferment coconut milk into a death drink.
Addy had to hide while we stayed with a host family here, because three-year-olds can be a bit proprietary about dolls, especially when presents are expected from the student staying with them.
Snorlax, however, had made friends with Mia’s small host sister. So, after a hug, Addy and Snorlax parted.
Addy proved her bravery during the game safari. Hippo jaws are very powerful, but she was fairly confident THIS hippo wouldn't crush her.
The Kiswahili word for “hippopotamus” is kiboko, which for some reason falls into the class of nouns reserved mostly for languages, manmade tools, and tiny things. (So is the word for “rhinoceros,” kifaru.) I still find this hilarious.
Monkeys, however, were a more real threat. They even stole cookies from our van!
That's right, you monkeys! Stay back!
A safari lodge was a good place to chill after a dusty and VERY bumpy ride. Addy watched the giraffes and elephants on the plain ...
... had lunch with Baba Athman, our Academic Director/honorary dad ...
... and made some new friends while browsing the gift shop.
Safaris are hard work, so you've got to sleep in a really fancy bed to make up for it. Even with Addy, me, and our friend Abby in the bed, it was pretty spacious.
Baba Athman and the other academic director, Baba Ali, were sneaky bastards and informed us all that we’d spend the safari night in tents. They were technically correct, but they forgot to mention that the tents were huge structures with hot water, giant beds, and porches that looked over a small river where all manner of animal came to drink. They were tremendously pleased with themselves.
Addy caught up on the world news at a Malindi bed and breakfast over a cup of tea and a crossword.
Then it was off to the ruins of Gede! Five hundred years ago this place was a serious trading town. They’ve found glass beads from Venice, coins from China, and a snake-shaped lamp from India.
It also has one tall baobab tree.
We took a plane to Lamu, but Addy preferred riding the dhows.
Most of the time we got beds, but Addy and I did spend a couple nights in Kipungani sleeping on mats over the ground in a palm-leaf shack. That's my Big Filthy All-Purpose Pink Kikoi she's sitting on, useful as a skirt, a towel, a bedspread, and wall #4 of the 3-walled choo—the privy.
It was worth it, though, because hanging out on the beach was even fun if you didn't have the constitution for swimming.
There is one drawback to only having one outfit on a trip: washing and drying it.
We all loved playing bao in Lamu. I taught Andrea, and she proved to be a worthy opponent for Addy. Addy was a slow player—she’s a fast counter, but when you have to pick up an armful of seeds the size of your head and carry them, it slows the game down.
The next place we explored was Tanzania on our way to Zanzibar. This cave was near Tanga, and it was full of bats.
Finally, something Mini Addy can feel tall next to!
On Zanzibar Addy and I crashed one of the fancy hotels to take some pictures of the fountains. We didn't stay there—our lodgings were cheaper. They had better ice cream, though.
A tour of the spice farm earned Addy a good place to ride. Fragrant, too, since it was full of spices!
The museums come in doll size, too.
Addy briefly toyed with the idea of sticking around and learning medicine man lore, but she missed Amber and her own home.
But she would always remember her wonderful travels to this part of the world, and how relaxing it was to just hang out on the beach. It was a great trip!
Right now all I’ve got in any kind of arrangement is the Photobucket story I did about my roaming gnome. I make no promises, but I’m going to try to dig some other pictures off my hard drive. Meanwhile, enjoy Addy’s Adventures in Africa.
Welcome to Mombasa! Mini Addy accidentally came with me and had a few adventures of her own. Here to get you started was a place in the neighborhood Addy and I stayed in: Fort Jesus. It was built by the Portuguese in the 16th Century and then got won and lost by a whole mess of people fighting for control of the prosperous port.
After the first day, Addy chills with her pal Snorlax and updates our travel log before letting down the mosquito net. When you're four inches tall, mosquitos are not to be messed with.
Addy was fascinated by the Hindu altar at the restaurant we had dinner at, but she rather wanted more than just vegetarian food. At least dinner came with a show—the world’s most entertaining lecture by the restaurant’s proprietor, which we later titled “Vegetables Are Good For You And Ganesh Invented The Internet.”
After the first week, our next stop was Kaloleni, a village a little inland with a spectacular view. It’s surrounded by shamba, or field, where nazi (actually pronounced NA-zee, which doesn’t break Godwin’s law)—coconuts—grow. The locals like to ferment coconut milk into a death drink.
Addy had to hide while we stayed with a host family here, because three-year-olds can be a bit proprietary about dolls, especially when presents are expected from the student staying with them.
Snorlax, however, had made friends with Mia’s small host sister. So, after a hug, Addy and Snorlax parted.
Addy proved her bravery during the game safari. Hippo jaws are very powerful, but she was fairly confident THIS hippo wouldn't crush her.
The Kiswahili word for “hippopotamus” is kiboko, which for some reason falls into the class of nouns reserved mostly for languages, manmade tools, and tiny things. (So is the word for “rhinoceros,” kifaru.) I still find this hilarious.
Monkeys, however, were a more real threat. They even stole cookies from our van!
That's right, you monkeys! Stay back!
A safari lodge was a good place to chill after a dusty and VERY bumpy ride. Addy watched the giraffes and elephants on the plain ...
... had lunch with Baba Athman, our Academic Director/honorary dad ...
... and made some new friends while browsing the gift shop.
Safaris are hard work, so you've got to sleep in a really fancy bed to make up for it. Even with Addy, me, and our friend Abby in the bed, it was pretty spacious.
Baba Athman and the other academic director, Baba Ali, were sneaky bastards and informed us all that we’d spend the safari night in tents. They were technically correct, but they forgot to mention that the tents were huge structures with hot water, giant beds, and porches that looked over a small river where all manner of animal came to drink. They were tremendously pleased with themselves.
Addy caught up on the world news at a Malindi bed and breakfast over a cup of tea and a crossword.
Then it was off to the ruins of Gede! Five hundred years ago this place was a serious trading town. They’ve found glass beads from Venice, coins from China, and a snake-shaped lamp from India.
It also has one tall baobab tree.
We took a plane to Lamu, but Addy preferred riding the dhows.
Most of the time we got beds, but Addy and I did spend a couple nights in Kipungani sleeping on mats over the ground in a palm-leaf shack. That's my Big Filthy All-Purpose Pink Kikoi she's sitting on, useful as a skirt, a towel, a bedspread, and wall #4 of the 3-walled choo—the privy.
It was worth it, though, because hanging out on the beach was even fun if you didn't have the constitution for swimming.
There is one drawback to only having one outfit on a trip: washing and drying it.
We all loved playing bao in Lamu. I taught Andrea, and she proved to be a worthy opponent for Addy. Addy was a slow player—she’s a fast counter, but when you have to pick up an armful of seeds the size of your head and carry them, it slows the game down.
The next place we explored was Tanzania on our way to Zanzibar. This cave was near Tanga, and it was full of bats.
Finally, something Mini Addy can feel tall next to!
On Zanzibar Addy and I crashed one of the fancy hotels to take some pictures of the fountains. We didn't stay there—our lodgings were cheaper. They had better ice cream, though.
A tour of the spice farm earned Addy a good place to ride. Fragrant, too, since it was full of spices!
The museums come in doll size, too.
Addy briefly toyed with the idea of sticking around and learning medicine man lore, but she missed Amber and her own home.
But she would always remember her wonderful travels to this part of the world, and how relaxing it was to just hang out on the beach. It was a great trip!
